CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A former Miss North Carolina winner died after less than a year-long battle with cancer.
The family of Carrie Everett — Miss North Carolina 2024 — confirmed her passing in an Instagram post on Monday, April 6.
“We are heartbroken to share that [Sunday] night the beautiful nightingale, Helen Carrie Everett passed away after a courageous battle with cancer,” the post read in part.
A GoFundMe fundraiser said Everett was diagnosed with metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma — a rare and aggressive gastric cancer — during the summer of 2025.
A March 21 update posted to the fundraiser said traditional chemo treatments were not working. She died 15 days later.
“The cries of her heart became songs that stirred the spirits of everyone who had the pleasure of hearing her sing,” her family wrote in the April 6 post. “She lived a full life and with her last words, on stage and in life she proclaimed the goodness of God. Her impact on this world is undeniable, and we will carry on her legacy of advocacy and praise.”
The Miss North Carolina Organization expressed its condolences in its own statement.
“Carrie forcefully utilized the platform offered by the Miss North Carolina title to encourage students in historically black colleges and universities to take advantage of the scholarship and professional opportunities afforded by the Miss America program,” the statement read in part.
“She also challenged minority and socially marginalized students to focus on goal setting and personal development, setting their sights high,” the organization’s statement continued. “Her untimely passing silences a strong voice for social justice but her impact will continue to live on in the lives she touched.”
According to her pageant biography, Everett was a student at North Carolina Central University, where she studied vocal performance.
CBS affiliate WNCN reported that Everett was 22 years old.
Also Read: Astronaut with North Carolina ties part of NASA’s Artemis II mission to moon
Copyright 2026 WBTV. All rights reserved.